No money, no word joy

By Claire McQuaid | March 6, 2012.

It is a skill that can only be obtained, not through technology, but through books. Shockingly, there is not one bookshop in the Liberties area.

But, according to Dr Jason McElligott, keeper of Marsh’s Library in Saint Patrick’s close, this was not always the case. “It is a pity, that there isn’t a more established bookshop in the area. It’s particularly sad because this area was once a great centre for books and printing.”

Local man Richard Magee says, “I’ve been living in the area since 2006 and there hasn’t been any bookshop in the Liberties since then at least. Demand for a bookshop in an area immediately beside a big city will always be limited. Then you add the fact that bookshops in the big city itself are closing down, and it’d be a fool who opens a bookshop in the Liberties. The last one close to the area I remember is Dandelion Books on Aungier Street.”

It is clear that the Liberties has fallen victim to the financial turmoil and as a result has had to sacrifice many of its great literary assets.

However, with vast commercial space available, it is vital that the area is restored to its former literary glory before literary culture is lost forever.